Ben Davies profiled as Liverpool confirm transfer from Preston North End
Ben Davies profiled as Liverpool confirm transfer from Preston North End
The 25-year-old defender has signed a five-year deal at Anfield and will wear number 28.
Liverpool have completed the signing of Preston North End defender Ben Davies for an initial fee of 500K.
The 25-year-old joins the Premier League champions on transfer deadline day in a deal that could rise to £1.6million.
Davies’ contract at Deepdale was set to expire this summer and Liverpool have taken advantage to sign the centre-back on a five-year contract.
Liverpool view Davies’ composure in possession and pace as ideal traits for how they want to defend and the Reds acted quickly late last week to ensure a pre-contract agreement with Celtic was not signed.
Davies will wear the number 28 shirt for Liverpool and here’s everything you need to know.
What’s Davies’ pedigree?
Davies broke through the Preston academy and after several loan spells away from the club, became an integral man in their defence.
The left-footed defender is very comfortable on the ball but also has the required physicality to compete against strong forwards.
Davies is yet to play above the Championship but with his contract due to expire in six months, he attracted interest from Scotland and the Premier League.
What have Preston said about his exit?
Preston boss Alex Neil has hoped to keep hold of Davies until the summer but admitted the club couldn’t stand in his way after Liverpool came calling.
He said: “It was an opportunity that he certainly couldn’t knock back and we certainly couldn’t stand in his way.
“We’ve said that all along about our young players, if an opportunity comes up for them to go to the Premier League, and certainly a team like Liverpool, I think it’s an incredible opportunity for Ben.
“To be honest he deserves it, he’s worked extremely hard on his game and he’s been a terrific servant for us.
“He came through the youth academy here as well, so to produce one of our own and for them to go on to a team like Liverpool, it’s an incredible achievement for the club and for Ben himself. I really hope he goes on and gets an opportunity because I really think he could do well. I think he’s got the potential and the attributes in terms of his pace and his comfort on the ball to be a really top player so I will certainly follow him with interest.”
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Were there other interested parties?
The 25-year-old was in talks with Scottish giants Celtic over a pre-contract agreement for next season.
Sheffield United were also linked with a move for Davies during the summer transfer window, although their interest has died down, with the Blades quoted a £10million transfer fee less than six months ago.
Celtic boss Neil Lennon said: “It’s a blow because we were very close to doing that (a deal for Davies) and obviously we got gazumped at the last minute by Liverpool.”
